New king penguin parents are showing off their adorable new two-month-old chick for the first time.
The chick came face to face with visitors for the first time at Tiergarten Schonbrunn zoo in Vienna, Austria on 20th September.
Zoo officials reported that the chick was mostly kept out of public view at the start hiding behind its parents but guests were ecstatic to finally see the cute animal in the polarium enclosure.
Animal keeper Bettina Schragner said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “However, the penguin chick cannot swim yet.
“King penguins don’t get water-repellent plumage until they are about 10 months old.
“Until then, they wear a warm, brown dune dress.
“The sex of the chick is only determined at a later point in time by genetic testing of feather samples.”
King penguins are the second largest penguin species after emperor penguins and stand at 70 to 100 centimetres (28 to 39 inches) tall.
(Daniel Zupanc/Newsflash)
They reportedly weigh from 9.3 to 18 kilogrammes (21 to 40 lbs).
Although female and male king penguins are monomorphic they can be separated by their call.
Instead of building nests, female individuals lay only one egg which both parents then alternately carry on their feet and incubate while standing in a special abdominal fold.
King penguins in wilderness live in dense colonies and prefer staying in small spaces.
They are listed as “Least Concern” on IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species.
Zoo director Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck said: “The breeding of king penguins in human care is still difficult and rare.
“We are therefore very pleased that this special animal species has once again been successfully bred at Schonbrunn Zoo.”
(Daniel Zupanc/Newsflash)
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Georgina Jadikovska, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
The Ananova page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
